Impunity Watch: Europe

Russian Conscript Beaten to Death by Officers

A 21 year-old Russian conscript died on Monday after being beaten by two officers with belt buckles and left in a dog kennel overnight.

The conscript, Sergei Sinkonen, was serving in a unit of the space troops at Plesetsk where the military launches its satellites.  The space troops are generally considered an elite force of the army and are praised for their extreme discipline.  However, on the night of August 15, that discipline broke down.

According to news reports, three conscripts, including Sinkonen, came across Warrant Officer Vadim Kalinin and Captain Viktor Bal who were heavily intoxicated after celebrating a fellow officer’s wedding.  One conscript managed to escape, but Sinkonen and the other were caught by the officers who thought they were trying to flee the base.  The officers beat the two conscripts with belt buckles and locked them separately in dog kennels.

The next day, the badly beaten conscripts were discovered.  Sinkonen had lapsed into a coma and underwent emergency operations, but died two weeks later as a result of blows to his head.  The other conscript was treated at a hospital and released after a week.

Unfortunately, abuse of conscripts by superiors is not uncommon in Russia.  Human Rights Watch issued a report on what it called “systematic hazing” in the Russian army back in 2004.  The practice is known in Russia as “dedovshchina” or “rule of the grandfathers.”  It is the result of a continuous cycle in which older conscripts take vengeance on new conscripts for the beatings they suffered when they entered the force.  As a result of this practice, hundreds of soldiers are killed or commit suicide each year.  Thousands more suffer from physical and mental health issues.

More recently, last year, national outrage erupted across Russia in response to the case of Andrei Sychev, a conscript who had to have his legs and genitals amputated after being forced to squat for hours.

In an effort to curb further outrage, the Defense Ministry has taken immediate steps to investigate the Sinkonen incident.  Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov has personally taken control of the investigation.  He began by firing General Konstantin Chmarov who was in charge of the space troops at Plesetsk.

As for the two officers who allegedly beat Sinkonen and his fellow conscript, Warrant Officer Kalinin has been charged with deliberate bodily harm resulting in death and exceeding professional authority.  Captain Bal is currently undergoing medical examination at a psychoneurological unit of a hospital.

In what is an uncommon gesture of the Defense Ministry, Serdyukov offered his “sincere condolences” to the relatives of Sinkonen.  Further, Lieutenant-General Anatoly Bashlakov, the head of the Defense Ministry’s Department of Education said that “everything possible will be done to prevent such incidents in the future.”
In addition to condolences, Sinkonen’s family was also provided with financial assistance.

For more information see:

Russian soldier in kennel death, BBC, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6966907.stm, 28 August 2007.

Russian soldier charged in beating death, Yahoo News, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070829/ap_on_re_eu/russia_military_abuse;_ylt=AsjQojrEhALIYRcd.zq2M4J0bBAF, 29 August 2007.

Russian conscript dies after being beaten by officers and left in dog kennel, International Herald Tribune, http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/27/europe/EU-GEN-Russia-Conscript-Killed.php, 27 August 2007.

Plesetsk cosmodrome official sacked after fatal incident, ITAR-TASS News Agency, http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=11826142&PageNum=0, 29 August 2007.

Russia sacks general at base where conscript killed, Reuters India, http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-29227520070829, 30 August 2007.

Russia: Systematic 'Hazing' a Serious Abuse, Human Rights Watch, http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/10/20/russia9525.htm, 20 October 2004.

10 Arrested in Killing of Russian Journalist Politkovskaya

Russian prosecutors have detained ten suspects in the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.  Prosecutor General Yury Chaika believes that the murder was planned from abroad by anti-Kremlin forces in an attempt to discredit Russia. 

Politkovskaya was shot dead in her apartment in Moscow in October.  She was an outspoken critic of the Kremlin and reported widely on human rights abuses occurring in Chechnya. 

Her death caused concern worldwide for the safety of reporters in Russia.  After her death President Vladimir Putin caused further outrage by stating that her influence on Russian political life was very minor, seemingly dismissing her.  Due to worldwide concern, Western governments have been pushing the Kremlin to solve the murder quickly.

Despite this, the Kremlin has not commented on the investigation in months.  Reporters Without Borders, a journalist advocacy group, complained in April that no progress had been made in the investigation and called for an inquiry if concrete evidence and conclusive evidence was not produced.

On Friday, after months of investigation, arrests of the suspects were approved by a Russian district court.  The ten suspects include five police and Federal Security Service officers and three Chechen brothers.  According to Chaika, they belong to Moscow-based criminal group specializing in contract killings.  He believes that Politkovskaya had met and likely known the person who had ordered the killing.  He stated that this person lived abroad and ordered the crime to discredit the Kremlin.  Chaika suggested that it could be Boris Berezovsky, long time critic of Putin.  Chaika stated that charges would be brought against the suspect in the near future.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, based out of the United States, has stated that since Putin has taken office thirteen journalists have been killed in contract style murders.  Two months before Politkovskaya’s death, Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko had been poisoned in London.  Before he died he blamed Putin for his poisoning and for Politkovskaya’s murder.  Concern continues to build for the safety of journalists who criticize the Kremlin.

The Independent, Russia suggests Berezovsky was behind journalist’s killing, 28 August 2007

The Moscow Times, 10 Arrested in Politkovskaya Murder, 28 August 2007

Fox News, 10 Arrested in Murder of Russian Journalist, 27 August 2007

EuroNews, Chechen-led group arrested for Russian journalist’s murder, 27 August 2007

Belfast Telegraph, 10 to be charged over murder of Russian journalist, 27 August 2007

Reuters Canada, Russia says Politkovskaya murder ordered from abroad, 27 August 2007

Former Bosnian Policeman Gets 12 Years for War Crimes

Former policeman Nenad Tanaskovic was sentenced on Friday to 12 years in prison by the Bosnian State Court war crimes chamber for his role in atrocities committed during the 1992-95 Bosnian war.

Tanaskovic was found guilty of six of the seven counts for which he was indicted, including illegal detention, forcible transfer, torture, persecution, rape, and the destruction of civilian property.

Survivors of the atrocities were angered by the ruling, arguing that the sentence was too lenient.  Prosecutors, depicting Tanaskovic as an individual who actively and enthusiastically “hunted and collected people,” had asked for a longer prison sentence of 25 years.

Tanaskovic had pleaded not guilty to all of the charges, claiming his innocence “before God and before people.”  He claimed he was a mere driver at the time of the alleged atrocities.  However, presiding judge Hilmo Vucinic found otherwise, stating “the accused [Tanaskovic] took part in a widespread or systematic attack of the Army of the Bosnian Serb Republic, police and paramilitary formations against the Muslim civilian population of the Visegrad municipality.”

Broadly, the allegations against Tanaskovic included setting fire to Muslim houses in the villages surrounding Visegrad, attacking undefended Muslim villages, and abetting in the rape of a Muslim woman.

Specific accounts include an incident that occurred sometime in May during which Tanaskovic and others deprived a Bosnian man and woman of liberty while threatening to rape the woman.  Shortly thereafter, the woman was questioned by war criminal Drago Samardzic and raped by two Serbian soldiers.

In another incident, on May 31, 1992, Tanaskovic and some Serbian soldiers attacked a village, arrested all the male inhabitants and threatened to kill anyone who fled.  After the attack, Tanaskovic joined soldiers in looting shops and he personally set fire to 2 houses.  Later that night, Tanaskovic took part in the beating of two male captives who were being detained in a local primary school.

Following the decision issued by the court yesterday, either party may now file an appeal with the Appellate Chamber.  A decision by the Appellate Chamber is final and binding. 

Tanaskovic was apprehended in July 2006 by Bosnia-Herzegovina security police, SIPA.  His trial lasted roughly six months, starting on February 2, 2007.

His actions are a small part of the widespread persecution of non-Serbs at the hands of Bosnian Serb forces during the 1992-95 war.  The war resulted in the death and expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Muslim civilians.

For more information see:

Nenad Tanasković found guilty of Crimes against humanity and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment, Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina http://www.sudbih.gov.ba/?id=505&jezik=e, 24 August 2007.

Bosnian Serb jailed for 12 years over war crimes, Yahoo, http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070824/wl_nm/bosnia_warcrimes_dc, 24 August 2007.

Bosnian Serb jailed for 12 years over war crimes, Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL2415792920070824?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&rpc=22&sp=true, 24 August 2007.

Bosnian State Court Sentenced Serbian War Criminal Nenad Tanaskovic to 12 Years of Imprisonment, World Topix, http://www.worldtopix.com/bosnianews25aug2007.html, 25 August 2007.

Tanaskovic: Prosecution Calls for 25 Years, BIRN, http://www.bim.ba/en/77/10/3904/, 21 August 2007.

Nenad Tanaskovic jailed for 12 years, BIRN, http://www.bim.ba/en/77/10/3940/, 24 August 2007.

Genocide Charge for Estonian

Tallinn, Estonia

Arnold Meri of Estonia has been charged with genocide for allegedly deporting civilians to Siberian labor camps and Hiiumaa Island.

Meri was a soldier with the Soviet Red Army and a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Estonia.  It is said that he specifically organized the deportation of over 200 Estonian civilians in 1949, which eventually resulted in the deaths of over 40 people.  During the entire deportations in March 1949, over 20,000 residents were deported to Siberia from Estonia.  They were allowed to return after Josef Stalin’s death after 3,000 died.

Estonia has been trying to prosecute the soldiers involved with the 1949 deportations for over a decade.  Estonia has been investigating Meri in particular for the past ten years.  Due to the fact that Meri is 88 years old and in poor health a conviction is unlikely.  However, Estonia will pursue the charge for symbolic purposes.  Meri admits that he was involved however he claims to have only played a minor role.

British Broadcasting Corporation, Estonian man on genocide charge, 23 August 2007

Baltic Times, Meri faces genocide charge, 22 August 2007

International Herald Tribune, Estonian prosecutors accuse cousin of ex-president of Soviet-era genocide, 22 August 2007

Update: Russian Opposition Activist Released from Psychiatric Center

Larisa Arap, a member of a Russian opposition group United Civil Front (UCF), has been released from a psychiatric center where she claims to have been imprisoned. 

Arap visited the psychiatric center in July to secure documents proving her sound mental heath, as required by law to receive a new driver’s license.  While she was there, she was taken away in an ambulance and hospitalized her against her will.  She also claims that she was forcibly injected with drugs. 

Arap had written an article on the maltreatment of children in Russian psychiatric centers and the UCF believes she was hospitalized for exposing the abuse, similar to the Soviet-era practice of locking up dissidents in clinics.

Current Russian President, Vladimir Putin, was a former KGB colonel.  Since he was elected in 2000 he has tightened control of political life in Russia.  Opposition parties have been squeezed out of parliament.  Most independent media have been eliminated.

Human rights defenders took up her case and challenged the detention in court.  Eventually, human rights ombudsman arranged for a commission to look into her case and they found that there was no reason for her to be forcibly hospitalized.  She was therefore released on Monday after 46 days of hospitalization.

UCF plans to pursue legal redress against the government for the illegal hospitalization.

The Moscow Times, Activist Freed From Psychiatric Clinic, 21 August 2007

Bloomberg.com, Russia Releases Reporter From Confinement in Psychiatric Clinic, 20 August 2007

British Broadcasting Corporation, Russian clinic releases activist, 20 August 2007

Impunity Watch, Opposition Activist Forcibly Held in Russian Psychiatric Center, 5 August 2007

Former RAF Terrorist Free on Parole After 21 Years

A Frankfurt court paroled former Red Army Faction (RAF) member Eva Haule on Friday after finding that she “no longer poses any danger to the public.”  She had served 21 years of a life sentence for the killing of a U.S. soldier and other terrorism related charges.

She was convicted twice.  Once in 1988 for membership in a terrorist organization and weapons possession stemming from a failed attempt to attack NATO training facilities in Bavaria.  The second conviction was in 1994 for the murder of Spec. Edward Pimental, a 20-year-old soldier who was gunned down in a western German city after leaving a discotheque with a woman.  The killing took place on August 7, 1985.

As part of the murder conviction, she was also charged with bombing the Rhein-Main air base in Frankfurt.  Apparently, after murdering Pimental, the terrorists used his ID badge to gain access to the base.  They detonated a Volkswagen, packed with explosives, in the parking lot of the base, killing 2 and injuring 23.  The two killed were Airman 1st Class Frank H. Scarton and civilian Becky Joe Bristol.

While it was never officially proven that Haule pulled the trigger that killed Pimental, the court found that she was heavily involved in the murder and bombing.

RAF was born in Germany from student protesters who were opposed to the Vietnam War.  Its members were left-wing militants who sought to fight against U.S. imperialism, capitalism, and the oppression of workers.  It was also commonly referred to as the “Baader-Meinhof Gang,” named so because of two of its founders Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof.  RAF waged a violent campaign for 22-years, in which it was responsible for the deaths of 34 people and injuries to hundreds more.  Often industry magnates and public officials were targets.

Haule’s early release is not uncommon, as convicted criminals are often released on parole in Germany.  In fact, most serve less than 20 years of a life sentence.  However, at Haule’s sentencing, the court was clear that she must serve 21 years minimum before parole would be considered.

Her early release was supported by the court, federal prosecutors, prison authorities and psychologists – all of whom agreed that she had renounced violence.  Also a heavy factor in the court’s decision was that “she actively participated in the self-dissolution of the RAF in 1998.”

She is the second RAF member to be paroled this year.  In March, Brigitte Mohnhaupt was also released on parole after serving 24 years for involvement in over nine murders and multiple kidnappings.

Two other significant RAF members remain imprisoned in Germany.  One, Birgit Hogefeld, was also convicted for her involvement in the Pimental murder and the bombing at the Rhein-Main air base.  She allegedly was the woman who was seen leaving the discotheque with Pimental.

The other prisoner is Christian Klar who was convicted for murdering a federal prosecutor and heads of industry.  The German President, Horst Koehler denied both RAF members the opportunity for early release this year.

For more information see:

Red Army Faction, Wikipedia, 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Army_Faction

German terrorist to go free, CNN, http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/08/17/germany.haule.ap/index.html, 17 August 2007.

German in U.S. soldier murder paroled, Yahoo News, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070817/ap_on_re_eu/germany_red_army_faction;_ylt=Au9yn.UQNitNtYOl76Ks72R0bBAF, 17 August 2007.

Former Red Army Faction member convicted of U.S. soldier murder wins parole, International Herald Tribune, http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/17/europe/EU-GEN-Germany-Red-Army-Faction.php, 17 August 2007.

German In US Soldier Murder Paroled, The Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6856901,00.html, 17 August 2007.

Germany frees militant tied to U.S. soldier deaths, Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL1721955720070817, 17 August 2007.

Meinhof gang killer to be freed, BBC, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6352903.stm, 12 February 2007.

Ex-Lebanese Prime Minister Tribunal Likely to be Held in Netherlands

The UN is currently negotiating with the Dutch government to decide if a special tribunal for former Lebanese PM Rafik al-Hariri should be held in the Netherlands.  UN Secretary-General asked the Netherlands to host the tribunal in July.

They are currently in the process of discussing the practical arrangements such as the location and financing.  There is discussion that the tribunal may be held on the premises of the International Criminal Court, where former Liberian President Charles Taylor is now being tried in a Special Court.  Also, a Dutch condition for the negotiations is that another country volunteer to imprison those convicted. 

Originally the Netherlands was not interested in housing the tribunal even though it has been a successful location for the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, among others.

Hariri was killed in a suicide bombing in February 2005.  There was also a wave of political assassinations in 2005, and those responsible will also be tried in the tribunal.

Dutch News, ‘Tribunal for ex-Lebanese PM in Holland’, 17 August 2007

International Herald Tribune, Dutch government close to agreeing to host Hariri tribunal, 16 August 2007

Jurist, UN, Netherlands near agreement to hold Hariri tribunal in the The Hague, 16 August 2007

UN Dispatch, Netherlands Close to Agreeing to Host the Hariri Tribunal, 16 August 2007

Russian Charged After Posting Execution Video on Internet

A Russian university student in his early 20s has surrendered to police after admittedly posting a video on the internet that depicts the grisly murder of two men in the woods. 

The man claims he was e-mailed the video from an anonymous sender and he is not suspected of actually producing the video.  Russian investigators have still not determined whether the video is authentic, but they are charging the man with inciting racial hatred.  “This man has declared his devotion to national socialist ideas” reported a spokesman from the interior ministry.

The video is entitled “Operation of the National-Socialist Party of Russia to arrest and execute two colonists from Dagestan and Tajikistan.”  The footage shows two men, kneeling before their masked captors and a giant Nazi flag, with legs and arms bound.  Speaking while gagged, the victims say “We were arrested by Russian National Socialists.”  Shortly thereafter, a camouflage-clad captor decapitates one man with a large hunting knife.

Later, the video shows the second victim kneeling before a shallow grave.  One of the captor’s shouts “Glory to Russia!” and then shoots the prisoner in the back of the head.  The three-minute long video is set to a heavy metal soundtrack and ends with the captors giving Nazi salutes.

The National Socialist Party of Russia, which is taking credit for the video, is previously unheard of.  The video itself was posted on several ultranationalist websites with host servers in foreign countries.

Human rights campaigners who saw the video admitted that the video appeared to be genuine.  Alexander Verhovsky, who monitors hate-crimes in Russia for the SOVA Center, said he has seen many fake videos over the years, but believes this one is authentic.  “I’ve never seen anything that blatant,” he said.

Xenophobia and racially-motivated crime has been on the rise in Russia over the past few years.  Most of the attacks target dark-skinned migrants from former Soviet territories in Central Asia and the Caucasus.   These majority-Muslim migrants travel to Russia in search of work, which causes tension with ethnic Slavs.  Attacks are usually committed by young skinheads with ties to ultranationalist groups.

Unfortunately, videos of beheadings and executions are not new to Russia either.  They have been used as propaganda dating back to the 1994 Chechen war, when the Chechen militants were reported to decapitate Russian soldiers.  The videos were then circulated in Caucasus markets.

More recently, neo-Nazi groups have posted videos on the internet of immigrants being beaten to send out their message.

For more information see:

Russia investigates report of killing by Neo-Nazis, International Herald Tribune, http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/14/news/execute.php, 14 August 2007.

Russian Held Over 'Deaths' Video, BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6946810.stm, 15 August 2007.

Man Admits Posting Execution Video, CNN, http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/08/15/russia.beheading.ap/index.html, 15 August 2007.

Russia student charged over Nazi "execution" video, Reuters, http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L15849091.htm, 15 August 2007.

Possible ETA Arms Found by French Police

French Police discovered on Monday a weapons cache consisting of chemicals that could be used to make explosives, 150 detonators, several firearms, and two bombs.  They believe it belongs to the Basque separatist group ETA, a Basque-language acronym for Basque Homeland and Freedom.

The weapons were found in a garage in the town of Biarritz, France after the owner of the garage opened it because he had not heard from the renters and the rental contract had expired.  The police believe that an ETA member hired the garage in February.

Over its history, the ETA has killed over 800 people in an attempt to obtain an independent Basque state on land in northeast Spain and southwest France.  The ETA had originally declared a cease-fire in March 2006 in the hopes of negotiations with the Spanish government.  The ETA then interrupted it in December by bombing a Madrid airport garage, afterwards claiming it was in force again.  The ETA finally ended the cease-fire this past June claiming that the Spanish government failed the peace process. 

Although the group claimed it would begin to be “active on all fronts” again, since June there have not been any attacks.  It is believed however that the ETA is preparing for a strike.  In July three alleged ETA members, who were supposedly preparing for an attack, were detained in France with over 220 pounds of explosives.

International Herald Tribune, French police find alleged ETA arms cache, 13 August 2007

British Broadcasting Corporation, French police uncover ‘ETA arms’, 13 August 2007

Jerusalem Post, French police find alleged ETA arms cache, 13 August 2007

Impunity Watch, Spanish Separatist Group Ends Year Long Cease-Fire, 5 June 2007

Secret Stasi Document Reveals German Border Guards Were Ordered to Kill

In 1961 the Berlin Wall was constructed as a barrier between the communist East Germany and democratic West Germany.  For 28 years, it was manned by East German border guards who were tasked with thwarting the attempts of Germans who tried to escape over the wall.  During that time, an estimated 1,000+ people were killed will trying to escape.  However, since German reunification in 1990, former East German Communist Party leaders have denied allegations that the Stasi (the Ministry for State Security) gave border guards a “shoot-to-kill” order.  They point to official border regulations which state that firearms are an “extreme measure in the use of force,” only to be used as a last resort.

But now, as the 46th anniversary of the infamous Cold War landmark arrives, archivists have revealed a shocking secret document that contains explicit orders to guards to kill anyone trying to escape.  “Do not hesitate with the use of a firearm, including when the border breakouts involve women and children, which the traitors have already frequently taken advantage of,” reads the document.

The discovery was made by archivists at the Stasi Records Office in Magedeburg while preparing a research grant application.  The seven-page written order, dated October 1, 1973 is unsigned and was found among the papers of Sgt. Manfred L., a former East German border guard.

The Stasi was 91,000 people strong during its heyday, with an additional 180,000 Germans providing services as undercover informers.  Records show that a special Stasi commando unit was planted alongside East German border guards to crack down on guards who were fleeing with their families to the Western side.  The Stasi ordered the guards to “stop or liquidate” anyone trying to breach the border.  Overall, some 2,800 East Germans successfully crossed the border.

In light of the newly uncovered document, Hubertus Knabe, director of the Stasi victims’ memorial is calling on prosecutors to launch an investigation targeting the official who promulgated the order.  “The order that was found is a license to kill,” he told newspapers, adding that  all of the 91,000 Stasi employees have gone “practically unpunished.”

However, an investigation is unlikely to produce results as the document bears no names.  Nevertheless, according to Marianne Birthler, Federal Commissioner for the state security service documents, “the document is so important because the political leaders of the time continue to deny there was an order to shoot.”  “The order is the most explicit and clear we have yet seen and is without constraint,” she said.

Since 1990, several former East German border guards have been tried for border shootings, but most received suspended sentences.  They argue that they were not committing recognized offenses in East Germany at the time and are the victims of “victors’ justice” at the hands of West Germans.  However, some former Stasi leaders have indeed received jail sentences.  Most notably is Egon Krenz, the last communist leader of East Germany.  He received a 6 ½ year sentence in 1997 for his role in the shooting of four individuals at the Berlin Wall.  He was released in 2003 after serving just three years.

Whether or not this new discovery leads to any new prosecutions, it reveals that dark times in Germany’s history have yet to surface.  The order “demonstrates in a horrific way how inhuman this system was,” says Ronald Pofalla, general secretary of the Christian Democrats.  “It is a lesson to all of those who want to let the barbarity of the communist regime be consigned to the annals of history.”

The Berlin Wall, spanning some 97 miles, came down in 1989.  It’s been 17 years since Germany has reunited.

For more information see:

Stasi Order To Shoot At Escapers Found, Yahoo News, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070812/ap_on_re_eu/germany_stasi_order;_ylt=AqUxi1meUH3ODrm5F_VIGb50bBAF, 11 August 2007.

E German 'Licence to Kill' Found, BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6943093.stm, 12 August 2007.

East German Border Guards Had Orders To Kill, International Herald Tribune, http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/12/news/germany.php, 12 August 2007.

Document fuels debate on East German border deaths, Reuters, http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUKL1225356920070812, 12 August 2007.

Shoot-to-Kill Order At Border Found In East German Archives, France 24, http://www.france24.com/france24Public/en/administration/afp-news.html?id=070812172959.ojs6dcra&cat=null, 12 August 2007.

Document Shows East German Guards Had Shoot-to-Kill Orders, Deutsche Welle, http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2734598,00.html, 12 August 2007.